Monday, July 31, 2017

HNSA is proud to announce the release of the next podcast in our series 'Imagining the Past'. This week we bring you Deborah Challinor and Ngahuia te Awekotuku chatting with our host, Kelly Gardiner about their love for history, writing and historical fiction. The podcast is a taste of what you will hear at the 2017 HNSA Conference in Melbourne from 8-10 September at Swinburne University Hawthorn. More information about the programme is available at our website.

Deborah Challinor is the author of fifteen bestselling historical fiction
novels, two works of non-fiction about the Vietnam War, and a young adult
novel. In 2010 she moved from New Zealand to Newcastle, Australia, to write a
series of novels set in 1830s Sydney about four convict girls inspired by her
own family history, but returned to New Zealand at the end of 2014. She is
currently working on a trilogy set in New Zealand, Sydney and Vietnam in the
1950s and 1960s.

Deborah was born and raised in Huntly, New Zealand, and
attended Huntly College. She has a Ph.D in history from Waikato University,
wrote an opinion column and feature articles for newspapers, has edited special
publications and books, and taught researching and writing historical fiction,
and general New Zealand history, at university level for several years. She
writes fiction full time, and her books are sold in New Zealand, Australia, the
UK, Germany, Russia and Czechoslovakia, and in eBook, audio and large print
formats. You can connect with Deborah via her website or Facebook.

You can purchase Deborah's novels, including her latest book int he Smuggler's Wife Series, Cloud Leopard's Daughter, at Booktopia or Amazon.

Ngahuia te Awekotuku was
born and raised in Ohinemutu, Rotorua. She is a veteran cultural activist,
scholar and LGTQI advocate. As principal author ofMau Moko : the World of Maori Tattoo (2007),
she won many prestigious awards, including Nga Kupu Ora-the Inaugural Maori
Book of the Decade. Her book E Nga Uri
Whakatupu : weaving legacies (2015), focuses on traditional textiles.
Awekotuku also writes poetry and fiction;
Ruahine : Mythic Women (2003) are crafted retellings of popular Maori
legends about heroic women. Her most
recent fiction is Tahuri : a limited
edition (2017) about growing up Maori, female, and different in the
1950’s-60’s. She gained a PhD in Psychology in 1981, and retired from professing in
2014, to undertake more creative work.

Ngahuia will be appearing in our round table discussion at the HNSA Opening Reception and cocktail party on Friday 8th September discussing our conference theme of Identity: Origins and Diaspora. She will be joined by Hanifa Deen, Arnold Zable and Gary Crew, with host Nicolas Brasch, as they consider the role of the historical novelist in
exploring first encounters in Australia and New Zealand’s colonial
pasts, the migrant experience underlying our nations’ multicultural
identities, and whether an author’s origins are relevant to the story
telling.

Ngahuia will also chair our 'Authencity or Truth: Does the History in an Historical Novel Need to be Accurate?' with Pamela Hart, GS Johnston, Tim Griffiths and Kathryn Gauci on Sunday 10 September.

Deborah Challinor will be appearing in our 'First Encounters and Our Colonial Past' on Saturday 9th September and will share her 'personal history' alongside Kate Forsyth in conversation with Josie Arnold on Sunday 10th September.

When Kitty and Rian Farrell sail their schooner Katipo
III in Dunedin Harbour in 1863, they are on tenterhooks.

The new Otago gold fields have attracted all-comers, including their friend
Wong Fu from Ballarat, who has sent a message for their help.

To their surprise, Wong Fu reveals he is more than a mere fortune seeker; he is
in fact the Cloud Leopard tong master of the Wong family, and his daughter has
been kidnapped and taken to opium-ridden China to be forced into marriage. Rian
and Kitty agree to try to find Bao, but as they sail closer to their quarry,
the stakes jump dramatically. Kitty's adopted daughter Amber is taken during a
stopover, and Rian suspects the same party is behind both kidnappings. Little
do they know the worst threat lies closer to home.

The Cloud’s Leopard’s Daughter takes us through dangerous and
unpredictable shoals of love, lust, greed and opium in search for two fiery but
vulnerable women – puppets in others’ calculated games.

HNSA 2017 Conference

The HNSA 2017 Melbourne Conference is being held on 8-10
September 2017 at Swinburne University. This celebration of the historical
fiction genre will showcase over 60 speakers discussing inspiration, writing
craft, research, publishing pathways and personal histories in our weekend programme.
Among the many acclaimed historical novelists participating are Kerry
Greenwood, Kate Forsyth, Deborah Challinor, Libby Hathorn, Lucy Treloar, Sophie
Masson, Sulari Gentill, Robert Gott and Arnold Zable. The HNSA’s speakers’ list is
available on the HNSA website.

Our Imagining the Past Host:

Kelly Gardiner’s most recent book is 1917 (published early in 2017), a novel for young readers set during the First World War. Her previous books include Goddess, based on the remarkable life of the seventeenth century French swordswoman and opera singer, Julie d’Aubigny. Kelly’s historical novels for young adults include The Sultan’s Eyes and Act of Faith, set during the time of the English Civil Wars and the Inquisition. Both books were shortlisted for the Ethel Turner Prize in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Her books for younger readers are the ‘Swashbuckler’ adventure trilogy – Ocean Without End, The Pirate’s Revenge and The Silver Swan – set in Malta during the Napoleonic invasion, and a picture book, Billabong Bill’s Bushfire Christmas. Kelly has worked on newspapers, magazines and websites, and her articles, poems, book reviews and travel writing have appeared in journals, magazines and newspapers as diverse as ‘The New York Times’, ‘Marie Claire’, ‘New Idea’, and ‘Going Down Swinging’. She works at the State Library of Victoria and teaches creative writing at La Trobe University. Kelly is also the co-host of Unladylike, a podcast on women and writing. Learn more about Kelly at her website. https://kellygardiner.com/

Thursday, July 27, 2017

I’ve lost count of the number of workshops
I’ve attended during my working life as an author, although I’ve always kept
the notes I made and the handouts I was given because I find them such a useful
aide-memoire whenever I’ve needed to
refer to something I learned during a particular session.Over the years I’ve honed my skills while
exploring various genres, partly to keep my writing fresh but also for the fun
of sometimes following a different muse. But writing is only the start; I’ve
also attended workshops on self-publishing and marketing which includes the (often
daunting) social media scene.

I can honestly say that my time and money
have never been wasted as there is always something to learn and some new
aspect to consider when it comes to the writing game – which is why I’m still
attending workshops, and learning from them. So you’ll certainly find me
hanging around the ‘super-sessions’ during the conference in Melbourne! Given
by experts, and at only $20 per workshop, there’s a whole smorgasbord to choose
from.

On the writing side, I’m greatly tempted
by the historical romance workshop for aspiring authors titled ‘Medieval,
Regency and So Much More’ given by master (or should that be mistress?)
practitioners in the field, Anne Gracie
and Isolde Martyn, who will share
their tips on the importance of research in creating historical characters in
believable settings – as well as giving some ‘how-not-to’ advice!

Anne Gracie

‘The Mystery in History’, internationally
published and award-winning author Sulari Gentill’scrime fiction workshop for aspiring authors, also looks like a lot
of fun with her promise to take participants through the art of writing crime
fiction with an historical setting that is more than just an artistic backdrop.

As I’ve already discovered, writing for
children and teens is far more complicated than just writing stories for short
people!Historical research is hugely
important but must take second place to compelling characters and the action
that will carry the story and keep the short people interested. Author Sherryl Clark will show participants how
to choose a viewpoint character and structure the story, while addressing
issues of voice and language to appeal to target readers.

Lisa Chaplin

Do you have a family story to tell?Eleanor Limprecht will show you how to transform your research into compelling
historical fiction – while maybe letting a few skeletons out of the closet at
the same time!

But how to research and create the
historical landscape of your dreams?Think about joining Dr Gillian Polack for her ‘Research and Writing Master Classes 1 & 2’, and find
out how to make history come to life in fiction. In these classes Gillian will
examine different genres of historical fiction, including fantasy, along with
the needs of writers. She will also read 10,000 words of your mss (deadline 1st
September), using these samples to discuss techniques and theory. NB You need to check the website for
info plus submission details. Cost $150.

As a bit of fun, especially if you’re
writing about early and medieval time, why not join Matt Curran (aka Leif the
Viking) in ‘Armour and Armouring’ to find out how a blacksmith would go
about making a set of armour – and how it would feel to wear it.(NB: your hero should never take a 5-minute
toilet break from the battlefield to shuck off his armour and pop into a
latrine!)

Not into battles, more into the boudoir?
Will you dress your heroine in a Tudor or a Renaissance costume? Silk, satin –
or nylon? Rachel Nightingale has
books to show you, plus a range of outfits made by historical re-enactors based
on research and portraits.

Hazel Edwards

Need help? You might like to join Kelly Gardiner’s introduction to
Scrivener, a low-cost software programme for writers which can help you manage
chapters and scenes, sketch out characters and settings, incorporate research
materials, plus a whole lot more.

Do you have a mss ready to go?Lisa Chaplin’s interactive workshop ‘From Elevator Pitch to Finish: how to
successfully pitch your book in 30 seconds’ will give you all the tips you need
to capture the interest of agents and/or publishers.

But perhaps you’d rather go the
self-publishing route? Successful indie author G.S. Johnstonison hand to answer your questions on everything from
production and publishing to marketing in their session: ‘Everything you wanted
to know about self-publishing but were afraid to ask.’

And that brings us to crunch time: your
book’s published but how do you get the word Out There?Your book will be up against millions of
others on sale so you’re going to have to get smart, get out there, and be
quick about it!Join Elisabeth Storrs and Elizabeth Lhuedeon ‘How to build an
author platform: social media basics for historical novelists.’ They’ll show
you how to connect with potential readers and promote your books through
Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, blogging etc, plus – a vital component – your
website.

Elizabeth Lhuede

And let Hazel Edwards have the last word on ‘Authorpreneurship: the
business of creativity’. As well as writing the book, she says, you need to
learn marketing, publicity, technological, legal and entrepreneurial skills to
adapt to a fast-changing digital global industry, while staying in business and
surviving financially.

So much to learn and so much on offer – we’re
spoilt for choice, and I’m sure I’ll see you there somewhere!

Book your tickets for the workshops and be entered in the draw to win a $100 Dymocks
Gift Card.Cost of tuition is only $20
per session once a full weekend or day ticket has been purchased.

HNSA 2017 Conference

The HNSA 2017 Melbourne Conference is being held on 8-10
September 2017 at Swinburne University. This celebration of the historical
fiction genre will showcase over 60 speakers discussing inspiration, writing
craft, research, publishing pathways and personal histories in our weekend programme.
Among the many acclaimed historical novelists participating are Kerry
Greenwood, Kate Forsyth, Deborah Challinor, Libby Hathorn, Lucy Treloar, Sophie
Masson, Sulari Gentill, Robert Gott and Arnold Zable. The HNSA’s speakers’ list is
available on the HNSA website.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Vicky Adin is a New Zealand historical fiction author. She
writes social history stories inspired by the true stories of immigrants who
undertook hazardous journeys to find a better life. As a genealogist in love
with history, these immigrants and their ancestors drive Vicky’s stories.

Vicky lives in Auckland, New Zealand. She holds a Master
degree with Honours in English and Education. Three words sum up her
passion in life: family, history and language. She has combined her skills to
write poignant novels that weave family and history together, inspired by real
people, with real experiences in a way that makes the past come alive.

When not writing you will find her reading historical
novels, family sagas and contemporary women’s stories, caravanning or cruising
with her husband and biggest fan, or spending time with her children and
grandchildren. She also likes walking and gardening.

What is the inspiration for your current book?

My novels are inspired by true genealogy stories. The story
of Gwenna is loosely based on my Welsh great-grandmother, who was a sugar
boiler and confectionery maker. Her first husband went missing in mysterious circumstances,
and she raised her only son to take over the business. I say loosely, because
she never left Wales and Gwenna’s story is set entirely in New Zealand.

Is there a particular theme you are exploring in this book?

Overcoming the odds. My main characters are working class
women, who live in patriarchal times, when the law and societal expectations
worked against them. They are not the famous women of the time who fought the
establishment. They are the stalwarts who kept doing what they must and making
the best of what they had, and in the process became better than they were. Thanks
to them New Zealand became an egalitarian society and New Zealand women were
the first in the world to be granted the right to vote in 1893.

Which period of history particularly interests you? Why?

I love anything from the Georgian era through to the
Edwardian era and especially the Victorian, and I’m particularly fascinated by
the pioneering women of New Zealand. These women and their families left their
homelands in search of a better life. They came to a new country that was rough
and raw, and built a life worth living.

After the signing of The Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, a few long-term settlers
started to arrive but by the 1850s the European settlers still only numbered
28,000. After the Land Wars with the Maori in the 1860s the population spread
to the Provinces and by the 1870s people began arriving in their thousands.
Still a British colony at this time, New Zealand offered land, work, and
opportunity, which people grasped with both hands. They were prepared to work
hard to have something they could call their own.

What resources do you use to research your book?

New Zealand history is easy to access through books,
photographs, and websites. Papers Past is my favourite. It’s an online
repository of the newspapers of the time and tells of life as it happened.
Museums, NZ Archives, and libraries abound, and because immigrants told their
stories, and were handed down, many people can still remember their
grandparents and their stories. Facts need checking but the essence is all I
need to begin with.

What is more important to you: historical authenticity or
accuracy?

Authenticity first. Getting the ‘feel’ of the time is so
important. Although, when I need facts, accuracy is essential. I need to know
what happened and when, but sometimes events can be manipulated a little to fit.
I do a lot of research beforehand and then do extra research as I go along to
make sure things like the drinks they consume were available, that a particular
piece of equipment had come into use in every day life, or when electricity
replaced gas and so on.

Which character in your current book is your favourite? Why?

It has to be the title character, Gwenna. She is totally driven to fulfil her
father’s dreams, but doesn’t see how strong she is. She’s young and naive and worries
she will fail, and in the process can’t see what is right before her eyes.

Are you a ‘plotter’ or a ‘pantser’? How long does it
generally take you to write a book?

A ‘pantser’ without doubt. My husband describes my writing as joining the dots.
I have a few facts and ideas with gaping holes in between which I fill in. I
research the history of the time and build my character to live amongst the
facts. They often surprise me. It takes me around a year from start to finish.
I do a lot of research beforehand and then research as I go along.

Which authors have influenced you?

A long time ago, I enjoyed reading Jean Plaidy/Victoria
Holt/Phillipa Carr novels. Those stories hooked me on historical fiction. I
didn’t know it was the same author until years later. Barbara Erskine was
another. I love the time-slip aspects of her novels.

I recently received a B.R.A.G medallion – a reader’s award – for my novel ‘The
Girl from County Clare’, and one reader compared my writing to that of
Catherine Cookson. I couldn’t have been more pleased. I thoroughly enjoyed reading
Cookson many years ago too, and have gone back to reading them again. More
recently, I’ve been inspired by the works of Diana Gabaldon and Deborah
Challinor.

What advice would you give an aspiring author?

Write what you love, and what you have a passion for. And
edit until you bleed. Pay for a good editor – or a series of good editors, and
a good cover designer.

Tell us about your next book or work in progress.

So far, I’ve written five stand alone novels based upon
similar themes, but I’m told I need to write sequels about what happens next
for most of them. The question is, which one?

I’m thinking of one that links the
characters from ‘The Girl from County Clare’ with the characters from ‘Gwenna’.
There’s a mashing process going on in my head right now, but I’ll never run out
of heroines while there is history.

Amid the bustling
vibrancy of Auckland’s Karangahape Road, Gwenna Price’s passion is making
sweets. Her Pa had great plans for the family confectionery business when they
emigrated from the valleys of Wales looking for a new life, but he died all too
soon. Gwenna promised she would bring his dreams to life instead - and she would,
if it wasn’t for her domineering stepbrother, Elias. With him in charge, it
would be a matter of time before the business collapsed.

Falling in love with
the cheeky and charming Johnno opens up other opportunities, but every step of
the way Gwenna is thwarted. If not by Elias, then by Johnno’s father and the
restraints of a society with strict Victorian values, but Gwenna is
irrepressible. Nothing will stand in her way.

Throughout the twists
and turns of love and tragedy, Gwenna is a young woman with uncommon courage,
determination and ambition in an era when women were expected to stay at home.
There are people who love her and those who are willing to help her achieve her
goal but, blind to anything that distracts her from creating her legacy, Gwenna
risks losing the one thing that matters to her the most.

“Inspired by a true
story from the author’s homeland, Gwenna is a fascinating insight into life in
Auckland at the turn of the 20th century.”

HNSA 2017 Conference

The HNSA 2017 Melbourne Conference is being held on 8-10
September 2017 at Swinburne University. Vicky Adin will be appearing in Immigrant Stories and Diaspora: How Pioneers Adapt and Survive in their New Land.

Friday, July 21, 2017

Our guest today is Hazel Edwards. An
Australian author of over 200 books, Hazel was awarded an OAM (Order of
Australia) for Literature in 2013. Best known internationally for There’s
a Hippopotamus on our Roof Eating Cake, recently she has been
writing historical ‘faction’ for young readers and also runs workshops for
adults on ‘Writing a Non Boring Family History or Memoir’. Each birthday,
she writes a personal story for her two grandsons. Her
memoir Not Just a Piece of Cake: Being an Author (Brolga) includes chapters
on the realities of juggling historical research, writing and family life. Her‘Sir Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop’ is
touring with theAnzac
Stories Behind the Pages travelling exhibition 2017-18, currently in Qld libraries. You can connect with Hazel via her website,Twitter and Facebook.

What attracted you to writing about real
heroes?

History is a kind of ‘looking glass’ where
you check out personalities from the past and work out ways they are relevant
to you NOW.

A children’s author’s role is to craft
those facts to entice young readers. I became interested because there were so
many children who knew little about the ‘extraordinary’ so–called ordinary
people from their own families and cultures. They only saw misbehaving ‘celebs’
like footballers in the media, not real heroes whose qualities were worth
admiring.

Why are anecdotes important to ‘hook’ young
reader interest?

I call it ‘Anecdultery’. Anecdotes
are mini stories, usually humorous, but real. When surgeon Weary Dunlop
broke his nose playing rugby, it’s said he put a toothbrush up his nose and
kept playing. (That appeals to 10 year old football fans.) Using a pair of
socks, he demonstrated to medical students, how to sew up a patient. They
remembered the surgical sewing skills learnt, and so do the ten-year-old
readers who read on to learn more about an heroic doctor.

Writing about REAL people, is different
from creating fiction. But it’s also like becoming a literary detective,
sleuthing the facts, but then making a story which will appeal to that aged
reader. And often to their families who find junior history a quick overview to
a subject which provides a context. Grandparents often buy the factual book,
supposedly for their offspring but really for themselves.

What is faction?

I use the term FACTION which is part way
between fact and fiction and used to make the story more dramatic. But if
the brief also includes appealing to a ten year old reader, I have to decide on
viewpoint, and include zany anecdotes likely to interest.

What are the challenges of crafting history
for young readers?

Whether to tell in chronological order is a
challenge. I prefer to start with the most dramatic and then flashback. With
the commissioned Weary Dunlop book, I started with the idea of using his
Melbourne statue as the symbolic structure. I took a photo with my 10 year old
alongside the tall statue because he typified the potential readership. Since Weary
was a rugby player, I was going to use his ‘feet’ as one chapter, his surgeon
‘hands’’ as another, the Buddhist peace sign for an ‘ideas’ chapter and because
he cast a long shadow, that would shape another chapter’s content. But the publisher wanted it rewritten in
chronological order with emphasis upon childhood So I rewrote but included the
research photo.I decided to make the major theme his
resourcefulness as an ex farm boy in ‘making do’ and creating surgical
equipment in the camps.

What are the challenges you faced writing
about non-fictional heroes?

You need to do lots of reading to find an
‘angle’ or a theme from which to present the person. Another challenge is how
much of the ‘real’ detail do you include. I think the flaws of heroes
should also be indicated, and the real difficulties they faced. But it’s
debatable how much emphasis should be placed on tragic events, like Edith
Cowan’s father being hanged for the murder of her step mother. Or the children
and pets who died in the Titanic sinking. Weary was tortured in the prisoner of
war camps in WW11 but it was his leadership and doctoring skills which saved
him and others.

Always a dilemma to decide is what should
be included and how it should be written about. Over-dramatising is not appropriate.
It’s a fine line between making something dramatic and retaining interest and
yet stressing the qualities those tragic events might have brought out in your
character. For example, when Edith Cowan’s mother died, the seven-year-old
girl was sent to a boarding school in faraway Perth (WA), her father remarried,
shot his second wife and was hanged when Edith was 17. But Edith was also the
first female member of parliament, and is a notable woman on a $50 banknote.
Her educational reforms affected the subsequent lives of many families.

Then there are the remaining relatives of
your characters who will read your book. Often people will come up to me and
say they worked with ‘Weary’ in hospitals, and tell me extra stories. Usually
they agree the book is a genuine portrait of the man and are very grateful to
him for his persistence which saved lives. Even if he did annoy authorities at
times. Similarly for Fred Hollows. The single-mindedness necessary to achieve
significant things, often upsets small minded people who can’t see beyond the
bureaucratic rules and regulations. Edith Cowan used charm but
persistence too. Stoicism is a common trait as well as risk-taking.

I wanted to write about female heroes next,
so I asked for a woman as the next Aussie Heroes subject, and was given Edith
Cowan, the first woman elected into parliament and who has a Western Australian
university named after her. She is on our Australian $50 note, so I
started with the idea of a ’notable’ woman because most kids are interested in
money. Then there was the legal problem of whether we could copy a bank note as
a possible cover.

Another challenge was choosing the visuals
for Edith. In the photo fashion of the times, Edith always looked sternly
formal, which was off putting for young readers. Was it better to use the
newspaper political cartoons satirizing her as a ‘housewife’ in the parliament
or the ‘hard nut to crack’ brooch she gave to her supporters on getting elected
as the first woman into an Australian parliament? Visuals matter for young
readers.

To what extent do book covers matter?

A lot. But this is often a publisher or
marketing department decision. Illustrations inside also matter and I’d prefer
these to be photos, but often there are copyright or fee issues.

Do you think that heroes such as Professor
Fred Hollows and Sir Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop are as exciting and inspiring as
superheroes such as Superman and Batman?

They can be, it’s just that often students
haven’t been told about them in the same way as the multi million dollar PR
budgets of film companies can ‘market’ a fictional hero.

Once kids are introduced to ‘real’ people,
they are more ‘inspired’ to try themselves. And often I’m asked ‘ was this real?’

I’d like to see more easily available
stories about inspirational people who are NOT footballers behaving badly on
the front pages on newspapers. Young people see ‘celebs’ as aspirational for
‘being in the media’ rather than doing something.

A hero is one who benefits the community in
which he or she lives, solves a problem, discovers an answer or is a good
example by their actions.

From a writer’s perspective it’s easier to
portray ‘action’, so the sports heroes rather than the scientists or thinkers,
tend to be written about.

I’d like to see more books and TV series
portraying ‘real’ local heroes who may include fire-fighters, cancer cell
researchers or even those who on a daily basis look after others, at their own
cost. I’d also like to see more historical heroines portrayed and realistic
writing about how they juggled families, jobs and community problems.

Why do you provide discussion notes for
your books?

Because teachers will be more inclined to
use the book in the classroom, but also an important readership is grandparents
and parents who often share with the child. And the fact that the subject of
the book was a contemporary whom they knew personally, makes history real for
the child.

Do you always write books or have you
experimented in writing history in other formats?

Titanic Dog is an animation from the dog’s
viewpoint of the Titanic sinking and the issue of courage.

Enact is a collection of classroom playscripts, based on REAL Australian
women, which can be performed, humorously, in the classroom and elsewhere.
Each has an ‘elastic’ chorus, enabling everybody to be involved. The value
of a play is that the actors think about the content as they rehearse and
perform, parents are often involved as audience or with costumes, and all
find out about ‘Real’ people from the past, in an entertaining way. Recently
I was invited to speak to the Victorian Medical Women and their first president
was Dr Constance Stone about whom I wrote in the play QVH as she founded the
first hospital for women in Melbourne:the Queen Victoria Hospital.

Antarctic Close Upis part of an
Australian National Museum series, where each story is based around
a piece of memorabilia from their collection. Mine was the telescope from
the Mawson 1912 Antarctic expedition which belonged the John Close (hence
the title). But it is ‘faction’ because a contemporary 10 year old boy had
to be included but there were none. So I made it a time jump story via a
web-cam, today’s equivalent of the telescope. Since I’d been an Antarctic
expeditioner in 2001, I was also able to include my on-the-ice experience
as participant-observation research.

Fake ID, now an e-book, is a YA novel with a family history mystery theme
and a teen sleuth. On the day of her Gran’s funeral, Zoe discovers Gran
had fake ID for years. Historical refugee links to 1956 Hungarian
revolution and Melbourne Olympics and much research help from a
genealogist. Fiction but factual settings and refugee dilemmas. It
would be timely to have an international TV series on Heroes, with each culture contributing
several episodes, but aimed at a general children’s audience. Often adults
enjoy an easy introduction to a period or a persona via kids’ history books
or programs.

On the day of Gran’s funeral, teenager Zoe
finds Gran’s ‘not to be opened until after my death’ package. So she opens it.

Turns out, Gran was not just Madga, she had
other names too. And other lives.

Together with her hockey-nerd mate Luke,
Zoe goes on a digital journey of discovery to find out who her Gran really
was.

Hazel Edwards is conducting her workshop Authorpreneurship: The Business of Creativity on Sunday 10 September at HNSA 2017 in Melbourne. Attendees will receive a copy of Hazel's Authorpreneurship: The Business of Creativity. The cost of the super session workshop is only $20 for conference attendees. Purchase of a ticket entitles the participant to enter into a giveaway draw for a $100 Dymocks Gift Gift. You can purchase your ticket here.

The business of creativity is changing, not
just in the formats in which ideas are presented internationally, but in how
authors perceive themselves. ‘Author’ is the brand which can be
overwhelming if there’s just you.

Today a creator needs to be an
‘Authorpreneur’: an originator and an entrepreneur. Apart from creating words
or images for specific audiences, this means learning the marketing,
publicity, technological, legal and entrepreneurial skills to establish and
maintain self-employment in the business of ideas.

Even if a VERY small business. Just you.

Hazel offers strategies for
beginners, mid-list and highly experienced creators needing to adapt to a
fast-changing, digital, global industry. It’s about sharing ideas so you can
work effectively at what you most enjoy creating and providing ways to help
sell your work for longer, in varied new formats and to larger audiences. Great
ideas won’t reach audiences unless the creators can stay in business and
survive financially.

HNSA 2017 Conference

The HNSA 2017 Melbourne Conference is being held on 8-10
September 2017 at Swinburne University. This celebration of the historical fiction genre will showcase
over 60 speakers discussing inspiration, writing craft, research, publishing
pathways and personal histories in our weekend programme.
Among the many acclaimed historical novelists participating are Kerry
Greenwood, Kate Forsyth, Deborah Challinor, Libby Hathorn, Lucy Treloar, Sophie
Masson, Sulari Gentill, Robert Gott and Arnold Zable. The HNSA’s speakers’ list is
available on the HNSA website.

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HNS AUSTRALASIA

Welcome to the Historical Novel Society Australasia. We are open to all enthusiasts of the historical fiction genre world wide. Join our FACEBOOK GROUP for discussions on history, writing, reading, and publishing historical fiction. We look forward to connecting with you at www.hnsa.org.au Contact us at contact@hnsa.org.au

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